KEIZER, Ore. – A weekend split against Warner Pacific University still provides the Corban University Baseball team with a glimmer of hope in an opportunity to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2022, as today's Senior Day celebration was sandwiched between a 7-4 victory for the Knights before the Warriors clinched a 5-2 comeback in the series finale to crawl one step closer towards that final playoff spot still available in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament.
"Game one, I thought we allowed the emotions surrounding senior day get the better of us," explained Corban head coach Ryan Harris. "We got out to an early lead with exciting moment, but emotions ran high and once Warner Pac took the lead, we got down on ourselves. Big emotional swings were the downfall in game one. We learned from it and were present the entirety of game two. We stayed fairly neutral with our emotions and allowed the game to develop before we executed. The pitching staff did extremely well, we took advantage of mistakes and came out of senior day with a win and still in control of our own playoff destiny."
The sixteen seniors that were celebrated today in the 2026 Senior Day celebration were represented by infielder Ethan Ammerman, shortstop Isaac Bateman, infielder Kellen Desbiens, centerfielder Chase Elliott, right-handed pitcher Eddie Gould, designated hitter Nathaniel Gutierrez, right-handed pitcher Robert Hays Jr., right-handed pitcher Casey Henderson, catcher Knox Hubbard, right-handed pitcher Jack Kovanen, right-handed pitcher Tanner Martinez, right-handed pitcher Christian Pedersen, right-handed pitcher Joshua Pedronan, first baseman Peyton Rickard, outfielder Jaebin Sotelo, and right-handed pitcher Jackson Young.
Game 1 | Warner Pacific 7, Corban 4
After the Warriors (16-30, 12-21) opened game one of Senior Day by scoring the first four runs, Warner Pacific (18-28, 11-22) responded with seven unanswered runs to steal a CCC contest on the road. The Warrior Nation fans in attendance saw the top of their lineup obliterate balls over the fencing at Roto-Rooter Park to provide the Dubs with an early 4-0 lead, with junior leftfielder Lucas Mertlich tagging a three-run bomb to right centerfield before Bateman tattooed the first pitch he saw off the scoreboard in left centerfield for a solo shot.
Opposed to this past Friday when the two Pacific Northwest foes played out their first two games of this week's series, the Knights traded their usual home run offense for small ball in game one today by scoring four-straight runs by keeping the ball in the park before third baseman Trenten Lowe provided Warner Pac with the two runs they needed to lead for the remainder of the contest.
Warriors' starting pitcher Hays Jr. tossed 4.0 innings of scoreless ball before the Knights cracked through in the fifth, as he accepted the loss after allowing nine hits while striking out a pair of batters. Gould allowed an additional run off one hit in 1.2 innings, while Pedersen had one unearned run score against his command in 3.0 innings of work while striking out two Knights.
The lone multi-hit outing for the Navy and Gold in game one belonged to Bateman who was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored via his fourth-inning bomb. Mertlich led all hitters with three RBI, while Rickard, Gutierrez, redshirt sophomore rightfielder Sean Shaffer, junior second baseman Colin McNeill, and junior pinch hitter Joaquin Velez-Fucal all tallied a single base hit as well.
Warner Pacific's starting pitcher Jaxon Hamada picked up the complete game victory after battling through the first four innings where he allowed four earned runs off eight hits but struck out five Warriors. Offensively, four different Knights picked up multiple hits at the plate, led by leftfielder Mitchell Thoma-Britt and his two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Game 2 | Corban 5, Warner Pacific 2
In opposite fashion of game one, the Knights struck first in the top of the third frame thanks to a pair of runs via RBI doubles, the first of which scored unearned after the second batter of the inning reached via error. However, Martinez locked out Warner Pac for the remainder of the inning and would go on to toss 4.0 innings with four strikeouts and one earned run allowed off five hits.
During Corban's own offensive half of the third, Mertlich sparked a four-run inning by scoring Ammerman from first base on a single to right field after Warner Pac rightfielder Jarrod Seibel struggled to wrangle in Mertlich's base knock. Bateman then drove in the team's second run after getting plunked by the first pitch he saw with the bases loaded, followed by a wild pitch from Knights' starting pitcher and reigning CCC Pitcher of the Week Mason Deverna that scored the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Shaffer then beat out an infield single to third base, but the inning ended early after a missed interference call that would have plated Bateman and was instead called out at home plate.
Rickard added another run for insurance sakes in the bottom of the fifth when he sliced an RBI double into the leftfield corner, which allowed Mertlich to truck around from second base standing up. From that point on it was the Pedronan show on the mound, as the senior right-hander lit up the strike zone and struck out a game-high seven Knights across 3.2 innings to earn the win in today's contest, his second of the weekend while allowing just three batters to reach first base. Rickard relieved Pedronan in the top of the eighth to pick up his fourth save of the season, striking out two batters while only one reached base via a hit-by-pitch.
Mertlich and Rickard both finished 2-for-4 in the series finale with an RBI, while Mertlich scored two runs to Rickard's one. Elliott joined Shaffer and McNeill with a base hit as well, while Ammermann scored the first run of the game for Corban when he slipped in under the tag at the plate.
Deverna was responsible for the losing decision despite tossing a complete game, striking out six Warriors while hitting three and walking another. The Dubs scored five earned runs off seven hits against Deverna to hand him his sixth loss of the season. Leadoff hitter and second baseman Haden Mirante was the only Knight with more than one hit in game two today, finishing 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored.
The Warrior baseball team is on the road next weekend for the final series of the 2026 regular season, as they'll battle for the final spot in the CCC Tournament with a four-game set against Eastern Oregon University (10-33, 7-24) beginning on Saturday at 1pm on Optimist Field at Pioneer Park. In order to qualify for the postseason, the Warriors will need to finish their series with EOU at +2 in the win column over Oregon Tech this weekend at the minimum, who hosts The College of Idaho in Klamath Falls on Saturday and Sunday.
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